Did you see a little? {Nassau} a lot!
- Hannah
- Mar 22, 2016
- 4 min read
One of my favorite things is exploring new cities, especially in new countries with new cultures! We did just that some here in the capital of the Bahamas, the island of Nassau. This day was also St. Patrick's Day, so there were many parties to find! We didn't get to spend as much time here as I would have liked, but such is the nature of cruises. We also split our time on land with snorkeling and seeing some pretty cool and colorful fish! I've never been snorkeling before, and this was certainly a very fun way to see the essence of a Caribbean Island!
Snorkeling Excursion
We got up pretty early to go on our excursion, but we wanted to make sure that we also had time to explore the island! I've never been snorkeling before, so I was honestly a little scared, but luckily this didn't require much skill. Essentially, snorkeling is just glorified floating while looking at colorful fish and beautiful coral reefs. We took a 20 minute boat ride to 2 different reefs so that we could get away from the deep water at the port of Nassau and into the beauty of the sea.
Our first swim was over "Rainbow Reef". This was the biggest and prettiest reef that we encountered. Either the water was shallow, the reef was tall, or a combination of both, but we were practically swimming through the reef! I had to adjust and learn how to snorkel for a bit because the water was cold, and I kept looking up a lot which tipped the snorkel back into the water. Admittedly, I'm afraid of fish and don't want them to touch me. So, sometimes I would freak out if I got too close, and that caused me to get water in my snorkel, too. After inhaling a lot of water, I finally got the hang of it, however! Most of the time I just floated along and looked at all the colors, trying to snap pictures with my really cool 1990s waterproof disposable camera (no shame or regrets for that). Sometimes, I would find my friends and we would look for exotic animals like eels and even a turtle! "Cruising Turtles Forever!"
The second reef we stopped at was a lot smaller and less colorful. Consequently, there were also less fish. However, while there wasn't as much diversity, it let me follow the fish more and watch when they interacted with each other! The fish obviously had their own territories of the reef because they would fight when one came too close to the others' home. It is also kind of hard to stay with your group while snorkeling. You're looking down so much, that it's easy to drift away from each other or chase different fish. I wasn't quite brave enough, but sometimes people would dive down below the water to watch the fish at a closer depth.
After our dives, we rode back to the port while getting the details about who lives on Paradise Island (hint: it's only the rich and famous). Owners of some of the houses include: Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger (house for sale if can afford it!), Johnny Depp, John Travolta, Shakira, and many more. We learned that each house built here is required to be at least $400 per square foot with a minimum of 10,000 square feet. In the Atlantis resort, there is also a hotel suite called the "Michael Jackson Suite" that has 10 rooms and rents for $25,000 per night. Michael Jackson was the first ever to rent out this suite, so it is locally named after him.
Nassau Mainland
Once we disembarked from our excursion, we went straight for lunch. We were recommended a nice Greek restaurant hidden above a jewelry store. You had to climb up the back stairs and ring a doorbell to get in, but that just added to the authenticity of this restaurant! Our server told us that there was actually a large Greek population on Nassau because their families immigrate as a whole rather than just with their nuclear family. After a lunch of hummus, grape leaves, and spanikopita, we took to wandering around the island.
Next door to us was Señor Frogs, which is a bar that can also be found in the US. We avoided it even though they were having a huge St. Paddy's Day party. We just didn't want to waste our time on an experience we could easily have later. Instead, we wandered around the town. We went through the Straw Market, which was aptly named because it was filled with women selling purses, bowls, hats, and everything imaginable made out of straw. They even sold shirts and the usual souvenirs. I was a little uncomfortable because they were very pushy and forward about us buying their items when really I just wanted to walk through as an observer.
We kept wandering and found a beautiful church off of the beaten path. We passed by the beach, which really isn't very big, and walked through some of the neighborhoods. We stopped in a small market to buy some soap, and then we went back to the main tourist strip. There, we bought some of the Bahama's famous rum cakes and then stopped for coffee. The people working in the shops were very friendly and open to new comers. When we got coffee, our server shared with us about her new baby boy and their plans for St. Paddy's day. Once we felt that we had seen as much as we could, we made our way back to the boat.
On the way back, we encountered Matt's friends, but that story is told in my first post about the Bahamas, "My Week on Ecstasy". In line, we also noticed how many of our cruise guests had gotten cornrows in their hair. It's not surprising since there were women who offered to do it as we immediately stepped off of the ship, but they'll probably regret that decision when they sober up... Overall, Nassau was a really cool place to visit! We didn't get a chance to go to and see Atlantis, but maybe that's just setting us up for another trip!
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